Three Views

The great Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) made woodblock prints. Among his work was a series called "One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji." To see a selection of images, check out the British Museum's online tour.

When I stayed with Bob and Betty Sims in Boise last November, I photographed a piece of wood that came from the historic Minidoka War Relocation Center. Bob received it as a gift from a woman whose family obtained a barrack after the site was closed. This wood piece was left inside and now resides in his home office.

This picture was made with 120 B&W film on my medium
format camera. The wood piece In situ, or 'in position'
is located on the top of a bookcase. After the film was
processed, I made a print, then scanned
the print on a flatbed scanner.

My Canon 5D, a 35mm digital camera, was used
to photograph the wood piece on a black piece
of fabric. The light source was overhead and
creates flat and even lighting.

The same camera and black fabric
background was used in this picture. This
time the camera was placed on a tripod and I
used a long exposure and a small
flashlight to paint with light.

It would be a challenge to come up with 100 views, so here's just three views.

Columns for UW Alumni

                                          Photo © 2014 Barry Wong

It feels awkward to me to be on the other side of the camera, let alone trying to answer questions during an interview. However, Julie Garner, a staff writer and publications manager for the University of Washington, helped put me at ease. Her "Face Time" article appeared in the March 2014 issue of  UW's Columns alumni magazine. A copy arrived in my mailbox this week and Barry Wong emailed this picture he took with his new digital camera.

Jon Marmor, the magazine's editor, is another photographer who loves to use film. In a thank you note to him, I had to mention something along the lines of "Film rules but not for self portraits."

The New Fujifilm X100

Barry, a former staff photographer at the Seattle Times is now the photography teacher at Lakeside School in Seattle. He's up on the latest gear and sent this link to the Strobist website with a review of the Fijifilm X100. If I'm going to shoot more with digital, this looks like a remarkably compact camera that I would like to swap for my Canon 5D. Thanks for the photo and the camera tip, Barry.